Anthem to drive home importance of non-motorised transport

After creating an anthem for the 2010 Commonwealth Games in Delhi, Hindi rock band Euphoria is back in action. The popular group is now composing a video anthem for the Millennium City’s Non-Motorised Transport (NMT) campaign.

“The NMT anthem — Walk On — is likely to be released in August,” founder and lead vocalist of Euphoria, Dr Palash Sen, told Hindustan Times over the phone.

“The environment has always been very close to my heart. I am involved with this campaign not only professionally but also emotionally and socially,” Sen added.

Sen said the enthusiasm of the Gurgaon NMT team has overwhelmed him. “The more than three-minute-long video will have a universal appeal,” he further said.

A Gurgaon resident and one of the core members of the NMT campaign, Manas Fuloria, has been attending shoots of the upcoming song in a Delhi studio.

“Euphoria’s involvement would be a great push for the campaign. We look forward to the release of the song that will make the initiative more popular among denizens,” said Fuloria, adding that the plan is to air the anthem on the radio and television, besides doing a concert to garner support.

Under the umbrella of an NMT Group, an informal bunch of forward-looking residents has been on an overdrive of setting examples and miniature experiments since 2012 on pedestrian and cyclist-friendly infrastructure in Gurgaon.

As the Millennium City is fast becoming a city of expressways and high-end vehicles, cyclists and pedestrians are being pushed out of the roads. The authorities have done precious little to ensure equitable road space for all.

According to the Gurgaon traffic police, as many as 25 deaths, out of a total of 55, involved pedestrians on the Gurgaon expressway in 2012.

Besides a slew of workshops aided by NGO Embarq India, the initiatives include regular consultations with the authorities and unique programmes like “Walk to Work” by CEOs and executives, “Walk to School” by students and others.

The Municipal Corporation of Gurgaon and the Haryana Urban Development Authority are working on a comprehensive NMT infrastructure in the city that includes laying of pedestrian walkways and dedicated cycling tracks.

Haryana chief minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda, during an interview with HT in May, said once a final NMT plan reaches him, he would like to take it forward for a city like Gurgaon.